Witness Wherever There Are People
1 Recognizing the role God’s spirit played in his ministry, the apostle Paul stated: “God kept making it grow.” He also acknowledged: “We are God’s fellow workers.” (1 Cor. 3:5-9) This is a marvelous privilege. How can we demonstrate publicly that we appreciate being fellow workers with God? By declaring the good news to all whom we meet in the house-to-house work and everywhere else.
2 We are commanded to “make disciples of people.” (Matt. 28:19) If we contact only a few people when we share in the ministry, we may tire quickly and feel we have accomplished little. On the other hand, we enjoy our ministry most when we are able to find many people and converse with them. This can be rather challenging, since it requires some initiative on our part to go wherever the people are so that we can make contact with them.
3 Practical Examples: We can witness to people at markets, parks, rest stops, and transportation terminals. When you ride public transportation, are you prepared to give a witness along the way? Two Witnesses who were riding in a crowded bus to their meeting for service carried on a conversation about the picture of Paradise in the Knowledge book, discussing God’s promises for the future. As they had hoped would happen, a young man standing close by listened in and was impressed by what he heard. Before leaving the bus, he accepted a book and requested that someone visit his home.
4 Many publishers have found joy in doing informal witnessing. One sister went to the local shopping center on an afternoon and approached people who had finished their shopping but who did not appear to be in a hurry. She placed all the literature she had in her bag. One man who was waiting in his car was happy to receive the magazines from her. He had attended meetings before, and their conversation rekindled his interest.
5 It is a privilege to exalt Jehovah’s name. By demonstrating our zeal for the preaching work, we show that we have not missed the purpose of God’s undeserved kindness toward us. Because “now is the especially acceptable time” to help others, let us go wherever there are people and witness to them about Jehovah’s “day of salvation.”—2 Cor. 6:1, 2.